Frederick Douglas said it perfectly when he said, "By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant." If you think about it, a horse is very much like a slave. It is used to do labor work on a farm or plantation, without the ability to read or write, or speak their mind on what they do or do not want to do. It was the thought back then by slaveholders that slaves should also not posses this right. One might say, "What does reading or writing have to do with anything"? Well, basically, everything.
The main fear of most slave owners is that their slaves will learn to read and write for a few reasons. One reason is because the less they know they better off the owner would be. The slave would then realize he was an equal to his master and question why his master has the right to enslave him. Douglas stated this saying, "The more I read the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes and on to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery". This could then lead to him teaching others and eventually everyone would get together and refuse to work. There would be nothing the master could do because the number of slaves far outweighs him and his family.
Another reason is the fact that if slaves can read or write, they may document the .
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cruelty in which they are treated. They may even write of being the witness to the inhumane acts that were used upon others. If that document would reach certain sources, than slavery could be ended. Frederick Douglas proved this point. He showed what just one man could do with the power of literacy. Would his former slave owner ever have thought that one of his slaves would make such and impact on society, and have his name live on forever? Probably not, but Douglas managed to do so merely by wanted to know more.